


You have been weighed, you have been found wanting

by superdudezz



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fictober 2019, One Shot Collection, Supercorptober, Supercorptober2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-10 17:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 20,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20855369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superdudezz/pseuds/superdudezz
Summary: Hopefully, I'll be adding to this daily.This is just going to be a collection of SuperCorp one-shots for Inktober...Supercorptober??





	1. Ring

Kara Danvers hated Tuesdays. She knew that on Earth, Mondays were the commonly hated day of the week. She was told this was due to work and the official start of the week after a few days of rest. Unfortunately for her, Tuesdays were often when she'd have to schedule meetings for quotes and appointments since it seemed no one was ever available on Mondays.

Probably unrelated to the hating Monday ordeal, but nonetheless her phone rang off the hook.

If it wasn't emails or calls it was texts and various alerts for the caped crusader. Around 6 pm, when Kara should have been going home, her phone rang again. With an exasperated sigh, Kara flipped her phone over and saw the caller ID.

_Lena_ ❤️💃

Kara's heart fluttered. Ever since the rollercoaster that was their best friend turning into a supervillain, they had grown closer and closer. Alex loved to tease the two of them even though Kara knew it was just to distract her from her own botched dates with women she didn't even remember the names of.

Kara didn't know what the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach was when Lena would laugh at her joke or when her eyes would light up when they met up for coffee last minute. She had just washed her hands of Mon-El and Kara had heard of a 'rebound'. She couldn't fathom jumping into something with Lena and realizing it was just friendship she was feeling.

So, for now, she'd keep it to herself and sneak glances at Lena when she wasn't looking. She'd keep her touches to a minimum to further distance herself. There was just something about the way Kara's mind wandered when she touched Lena and felt her warmth.

"KARA!" James yelled across the bullpen. "Answer that phone or put it on silent it's late!"

She looked down at her phone.

_2 missed calls Lena_ ❤️💃

Kara's eyes widened. "Sorry!" she yelled back, receiving a knowing smirk from James.

Maybe she should save the daydreaming for another time.


	2. Lips

For all the technological facets of her company that Lena Luthor had seen and created, the makeup community was one that she had never dabbled in. It wasn't that she needed a new company or needed to reach a new demographic. It was just something she had found to be better done by others and had never felt a need to improve upon it herself.

Until today.

Lena had always been aware of makeup since her life had been in the public eye for so long. It was always subtle, what magazines called "nude" or "bare face" but in reality required at least 15 different products. Until she had entered the corporate world, lipstick was something that was seldom worn and when it was it was light and prudent. She began wearing the red lipstick more as armor than anything else. It showed men she wasn't afraid of standing out and being comfortable in her femininity. Lena wasn't one to invest in soccer, but Marta the Brazilian soccer player had said it best that red lipstick was a statement to leave blood on the pitch.

Unfortunately, blood wasn't what she was leaving behind lately.   
Lena was accustomed to having to touch up her lipstick every couple of hours. To Jess'exasperation she seldom ate during work hours so the smudging lip wasn't something on her radar. To top it off a certain someone hadn't been making her lipstick preservation any easier.

The frequent visits from a certain Kara Danvers had been making it more difficult for her to keep up the composed and intimidating front. The stolen kisses at lunch were becoming more frequent and left Lena feeling hazy. More than once Jess had pointed out lipstick smudged on the corner of her lips or on her teeth. Yes, perhaps it was time she invested in a new business endeavor. It had been a hot minute since she'd bought her best friend a company.


	3. Glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw: death briefly mentioned (no major character death)  
tw: car crash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this scene in my head for a while and I'm so glad I get to fit it into this month's fictober. Fingers crossed some variation of this happens in season 5 lol

The first game night after Lex had been killed was _off_. Kara saw how glaringly obvious it was, the smiles were too forced and the laughter just a touch too loud. Everyone seemed to be doing their hardest to pretend nothing had happened. As if their lives hadn't been plagued for the past year witnessing horrifying events. She couldn't blame the superfriends, especially with Lena present. Alex had told her to hold off on the Supergirl situation until enough time had passed that Lena could process what had happened to Lex.

What was a few more weeks to the years she had been lying to her best friend.

\---

\---

Kara decided to tell Lena after a, particularly grueling night. She had stayed up until 3 am sitting with two kids both under the age of 9, their parents had gone on a trip two states over and had gotten into a serious car wreck. Explaining to the two girls that their parents weren't coming back was difficult for them to understand. It was difficult for Kara too, not knowing when your goodbyes would be your last was a hard thing to wrap your head around as an adult. She almost couldn't imagine what was going through their minds._ Almost._ At the very least it had been a three day weekend and she wasn't expected to come into work the following morning.

Kara knew Lena would still be working despite giving her staff the day off. Kara had stopped to grab them both large coffees. Lena took hers black with minimal sugar and Kara always got what Lena called "a glorified milkshake". Since Lena had given Kara full access a while ago she was able to enter the building despite the lack of security. She knocked lightly on the door to Lena's office and could hear Lena's heart rate pick up slightly.

"It's me, Kara. I brought coffee!" she tried to sound calm and not overeager even though she was so nervous she thought she was going to be sick.

"It's open" Lena had answered back quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kara opened the door and found Lena behind her desk. She was pouring over a large schematic and had two holograms up that looked like portions of an engine. Lena didn't look up. Kara set the coffee down on the table by the couch.

"Thank you, Kara." Lena said, still not looking up from her work.

Kara lingered by the table, fidgeting with the buttons on the cuff of her shirt. Kara wasn't expecting Lena to be this standoffish, she seemed fine at game night. Maybe this was a bad idea she had caught her at a bad time.

"Did you need something?" Lena looked up with a tight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Just needed to see my best friend, ha, ya know. We haven't seen each other much since game night." She meant it to be light banter, but it came out more as a plea.

Lena stiffened at the phrase 'best friend'. Her eyes dropped to Kara's fidgeting hands.

"This may be a day off for you, but I have deadlines, Ms. Danvers."

Kara scoffed in disbelief, frustration bubbling to the surface. Ms. Danvers hadn't been said to her by Lena in years.

"Lena-What? Um- look I know it's been a tough few weeks for you, but-"

"Do you?"

Lena had moved out from behind her desk with tears in her eyes. Her fists were balled up at her sides shaking with anger. The question cut through the office and hit Kara, harder than any punch she's ever felt. Kara's eyes filled with tears. All she wanted to do was pull Lena in and hold her.

"No, I don't, but talk to me. I can help." another plea.

Lena was now in front of Kara. No more than an arms-length away.

"Supergirl, can't help me."

_Oh _

Lena knew and Kara hadn't told her. Lena knew and she was hurt. It was one of Kara's worst fears. After speaking with Lillian the seed of fear had been planted in Kara. Lillian had said that Lena would never trust Kara after learning about Supergirl. No, Lillian wouldn't be right. Not now and not ever if she had anything to do with it. But Kara stood speechless not knowing how to say the right words. Years of talking villains down had not prepared her for this. So the two of them stood and stared with tears in their eyes. The air thick and uncomfortable. Kara thought to take her glasses off to visually confirm what Lena already knew, but Lena was faster. She moved her fingers gracefully, handling the glasses like a volatile tool. Lena slid the glasses off slowly holding Kara's gaze as she did. Tears spilled onto Lena's cheeks. She threw the glasses across the room and grabbed Kara's shirt.

"You lied! I needed you and you lied!"

Lena's fists hit against Kara's chest as she said each word and sobbed. Kara just stood and let her. Tears streaming down her own face. The sudden outburst was short but left Lena drained and she leaned forward burying her face into Kara's neck. The sobs quieted but were nonetheless present. Kara wrapped her arms around Lena's middle and pulled her close to her body.

"I'm sorry." Kara whispered. She knew it wasn't enough. Kara had practiced nuanced speeches in the mirror for countless months. None of it felt right to say at this moment so she just held Lena as she cried. Kara knew that there would be time for both of them to say everything they needed to.


	4. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't quite sure where to go with this prompt, so I just started writing and we ended up with a cuddly morning I guess

It was a perfect Saturday, Kara had finally gotten the final draft of a piece on National City's sewage issue that had less of an environmental origin and more of a 'Fort Rozz alien with a lust for death' origin. That part had not been fun or easy in any way, but it didn't matter to Kara. She knew no matter how sludgy or tired she was, coming home to her wife would make it seemingly go away in an instant. Although, to Lena's protest, the sludge was ever-present and pungent no matter how deeply Kara gazed into her eyes.

She had spent until almost 2 am working on her article before turning it in. Lena had gotten on her case that James had given her until Monday to turn it in and that burning out wasn't going to be a good look for her or Supergirl. Kara had just quipped back that she would go to bed in a timely manner if Lena did the same. She had just scoffed and pulled the CEO card and changed the subject. In reality, both of them enjoyed spending Friday night curled up on the couch working on articles, research, and emails. It had become routine that on non-game nights they would stay up and work in order to have a lazy Saturday and Sunday cuddled up in bed and at the farmers market.

Kara woke up before Lena most Saturdays. While Kara liked to joke and tease Lena about pulling the CEO card she did work herself into the ground most days and had only started opening up to sleeping in on Saturdays. After they had moved in together and gotten engaged, Kara had given Lena the puppy dog eyes at least two dozen times before Lena had given in. Kara was still working on getting Lena to sleep in on Sundays, but for now, she was content with having a slow Saturday start.

Kara loved looking at Lena before she woke up. She looked peaceful and younger as she rested. The hard lines around her mouth and eyes were less so. She was breathtaking as the morning sun filtered through and illuminated every feature perfectly. Kara shifted slightly to check the time

[9:27]

Not quite sleeping in for Kara, but this was definitely a late morning for Lena. The shifting caused Lena to wake up, she opened her eyes and looked at the Kryptonian who was wide awake and staring back.

"You know for most people, watching someone sleep is creepy."

Lena joked and leaned over to give Kara a quick kiss. Kara blushed.

"You're eyes are the greatest thing I've ever woken up to. Morning light catches them just right and they look like emeralds." Kara meant it to be a more romantic line instead of sounding like a cheesy teen movie, but she was caught up in the way Lena looked so early in the morning. She ducked her head suddenly embarrassed.

Lena smiled and grabbed Kara's chin and raised up her face to meet her lips.

"I love you, Kara Zor-El."

Kara blushed again, but this time gave Lena another deep kiss. It was a good thing Kara had turned in her article early, she didn't think she would be getting any work done this weekend if Lena had anything to do with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actual question for y'all  
When Kara and Lena get married what would their last names be?


	5. Couch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara's got a couch she loves and Nia doesn't get it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's pretend that Winn didn't have to go into the future and remained with the Superfriends. This isn't quite supercorp but more Kara's relationship with everyone.

Nia was only the second to make a comment out Kara's couch out loud. The first being Brainy.

It was an unspoken rule amongst the superfriends that no matter what, no one criticizes Kara's couch. If you had asked anyone of them when this silent rule had been made not one could tell you. Although, it was a hard and fast rule such as not getting between Kara and her food. The first time Brainy had been in Kara's apartment (physically), it had been the first time he had been in a twenty-first century apartment. He had asked Kara if all beings in the twenty-first century enjoyed sitting on decrepit fixtures. Kara had been quick to defend the couch and was only a little angry, according to Alex it was more than a little.

A bit later at a game night, Nia had made an offhand comment that she would rather fight RedK Supergirl than sit on that couch. The silence that followed the comment was deafening and thankfully completely ignored by Kara who was too busy talking to Lena in the kitchen and scarfing down popcorn. Nia didn't quite understand Kara's attachment to the couch. After that night Nia decided to do what she did best and investigate the matter further.

According to Alex, it was bought after Kara moved into the loft and had been secondhand by one of Alex's college friends. She'd only had it for a few years, but it seemed to be the last thing she replaced in her apartment. Salary also obviously wasn't an issue, although, with the amount of food Kara ate maybe it was.

Winn had said that maybe it was just cumbersome to get rid of, he recalled _sweating buckets_ as he helped Kara move it in. He flexed his muscles and claimed Kara had actually been impressed with him. While it was a large piece of furniture it wasn't like Kara lacked in the muscle department.

She asked James what he thought the deal was and he had no clue. He said the only good thing that came from that couch was a few hours rest from the few nights James had slept over. Apparently the two had spent late nights writing together and catching National City's worst as he liked to phrase it, quickly clarifying that was the only thing that happened between the two on that couch.

_Ew_

J'onn had been the same amount of help as all the others, telling her that the couch was the first time he got what humans called a _crick in the neck_. He laughed and said that Kara had made him and Alex marathon all the Star Wars movies when she found out he hadn't seen them or any movie for that matter.  
\---  
When Lena stopped by Catco to look in and see how things were doing Nia had asked what the deal was with Kara's couch. Lena gave her a quizzical look. She must have thought she was crazy.

"I have no clue, I am with you that the couch does need to go. Kara has spent a lot of time laying there covered in soot and injured. Do you know how many times I've had to convince her I am qualified to patch her up?"

"Please, you're the only person left who might have a clue what goes on in Kara's brain."

Lena laughed

"Ha, well if you can figure that woman out then be sure to let me know first. I'm sorry Nia, but all I know about that couch is she's almost as protective of it as she is of you guys."

_that's it_

Nia quickly turned to gather her bag and her phone before half running away.

"You're a genius!" Nia called over her shoulder.

Lena just shook her head and smiled at the eager reporter.

\---

Kara walked into her apartment after an exhausting day of DEO paperwork. She didn't know how Alex managed to do it day in and day out.

"Surprise!" Nia called out

The room was decked out in various streamers and balloons were all over the floor. The superfriends all let their confetti poppers go in a shower of paper.

"Uh- Guys?" Kara checked her watch to make sure it wasn't her birthday or a missed anniversary.

"We wanted to surprise you! For being such a stellar friend." Nia gestured at everything in the apartment.

"Uh-Not to sound ungrateful, but did I miss something?"

Nia grabbed Kara and sat her down on the couch as the rest of the gang went and grabbed various trays out of the fridge.

"Well, I was looking into the whole couch situation..."

Kara scrunched up her nose

"...and I realized why it means so much to you."

Kara looked down at her hands that were fidgeting as her eyes got watery.

"Everyone in this room has a very distinct story about how you became friends and they all miraculously have something to do with this very couch. You big sap."

Kara laughed as Nia pulled her in for a hug

"We've gotta story too now," Kara said as she wiped the tears from her eyes

"Alright alright enough with the waterworks, this is a party!" Alex teased as she handed champagne glasses to Kara and Nia

"To Kara!" Nia said, "And hopefully getting her a new couch!"

"To Kara!" they all replied back smiling and laughing

Kara stood up and drew them all in for a hug that was a little too tightly before saying

"You'll have to pry this couch away from me you know that right."

Everyone groaned in reply. Kara gave Nia another a hug.

"Thank you so much, Nia. But I was serious about this couch."

Nia just laughed and shook her head before looking down at the couch. It wasn't such a bad couch after all.


	6. Premiere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena's an actress, Alex is her bodyguard, and Kara is reporting Lena's /journey/

For most actresses, the private screening for their blockbuster movie would have them full of nerves. Lena Luthor was not most actresses. While she did enjoy the spotlight from time to time, mostly just reading outrageous rumors on gossip blogs, it did get old. Her new film was an action thriller and shooting from daybreak to midnight took a toll on her body. So the screening signaled the end to filming re-shoots and behind-the-scenes. From a young age, she had been in the public eye. Her mother was a stunning starlet and had made it her priority that her children were the same. Lex had gone on to be a Hollywood executive pretty quickly, leaving Lena behind to _pay her dues_ or whatever bullshit the men in charge of Hollywood said.

Whatever the case was, Lena did enjoy being the leading lady in seemingly outrageous films. Today it was a spy, yesterday an astronaut, tomorrow was a mystery. It allowed her to be someone else. Lillian had always chastised her for taking such childish roles.

"This isn't dress-up Lena, this is your job. Act like it."

Lena had laughed at the accidental pun, much to Lillian's chagrin. Luckily, Lena had the public backing her various roles, leaving Lillian to sit and roll her eyes. This wasn't the same Hollywood it was 30 years ago and she knew it.

\---

The night of the premier was always a mess. No matter how much everyone prepared for any one problem, another always seemed to pop up. If it wasn't wardrobe, it was the press. If it wasn't the press, it was late make-up artists. Lena arrived 45 minutes early for her hair and make-up. It amazed her that the professionals in the business always underestimated the time it took to get ready. As she sat in her chair away from the mirror, her hairstylist chatted away. She always tended to drown out everyone around her on nights like this. Nerves tended to manifest in incessant chatter. A knock at the door startled them both. The muffled voice of her bodyguard sounded from the other side of the door.

"Miss Luthor, the reporter from CatCo is here."

_idiot _

Lena had forgotten the favor she had granted her bodyguard, Alex. Apparently, Alex had a sister who was a reporter for National City's go-to magazine and they had been dying to get an exclusive. She had absentmindedly said yes one night after shooting for 15 hours. Lena nodded to her hairstylist to open the door before dismissing her. They were ahead of schedule anyway. The door opened and Alex's sister bounced in.

"Hello! I'm Kara Danvers for CatCo Worldwide Media. It's nice to meet you!" She announced loudly before sticking a hand out to greet Lena.

The blonde was gorgeous. She was wearing a navy blue button-up with slacks. Even fully covered she could see the muscle underneath the shirt. Lena didn't realize she was staring until Kara started to put her hand down and looked nervous. Lena quickly shook her hand and composed herself.

"Nice to meet you, sorry its been a hectic day here."

"I bet! It must be so exciting to see your work put out into the world."

"You mean criticized endlessly. Please, have a seat." Lena waved Kara to the chair next to hers.

"So, I guess my first question is kind of obvious. Why did you stop doing interviews."

Lillian and Lex had been at the forefront of keeping Lena out of the press as much a possible. 4 years ago after the conclusion to her last romance movie she had fallen in love with her co-star, Veronica Sinclair. It was all terribly cliche, but the press had had a field day that Lena Luthor didn't just play a lesbian on-screen. Being out to the world when you hadn't even told your own brother had been brutal. Lillian especially hadn't taken it well and had been the first to give an 'I told you so' after Veronica had broken things off for a new co-star. She was heartbroken and every step of it had been meticulously documented by the press. Even this cub reporter should know the basics on who they're interviewing.

"Have you done any research, Ms. Danvers." Her voice was icy, she didn't have time for this. Lena began to stand from her chair, "If you don't mind I'm very busy-"

"No!" Kara interrupted, "I apologize, I have done my research. It's just for all the articles and press you've had over the years it's always been someone else's words and perspectives. The statements you've put out aren't exactly your own words and even after the coming out debacle all the quotes I've found were from your mother or her."

Lena sat down, not meeting Kara's eyes.

"It must have been difficult to go through that so publicly, I mean I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have my family to support my journey."

Lena scrunched her nose at the word journey and looked at Kara.

Kara closed her eyes in embarrassment. "Oh my god, I just called being gay a journey."

Lena started laughing. They both doubled over nearly in tears as Alex knocked on the door informing Lena she needed to let her make-up artist in. Lena wiped tears from her eyes, she hadn't laughed that hard in years. Kara stood up to leave.

"No stay, I think you're right I haven't had a chance to tell the public what's been going on. I've really just been hiding in hopes that people focus on my work instead of me."

Kara smiled and grabbed her notepad. "So that _journey_."

Lena laughed and shook her head, this girl was something else.


	7. Cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena's in witness protection in the middle of the woods lol and the small town deputy is, of course, Kara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A snippet from a fic I'm writing, thought it fit the bill for cute. I'm not sure if I'll actually be writing this all out tho so. Guess we'll see.

So, perhaps it was an anomaly and Lena Luthor was just doomed to be stuck in a loop of 'the grass is greener on the other side'. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow flash past the window. Lena stood up abruptly and slowly walked over to the closet that held the small silver pistol. Her eyes never left the window. The metal was cool against her skin, she realized her palms were sweaty and her heart rate was running a mile a minute. Lena had joked to Jack that if he didn't hear from her she was probably the main character for a cheap horror film. He hadn't laughed at the joke for once and instead handed her the weapon she held in her hands now. It made her feel marginally better, but still not in control. There was a scraping at the door like branches dragging across the wood.

_fuck fuck fuck _

Lena stood frozen in her place with her back against the kitchen island and eyes locked onto the door. She took a step back to steady her stance in case she needed to use the gun or run. She miscalculated and her back foot bumped the stool, it clattered back and hit the second stool before slamming loudly back into place.

_FUCK_

The scraping at the door stopped and was replaced by a deep bark and some whining. Relief washed over Lena before quickly being replaced by idiocy. Way to go Luthor, not only did you completely freeze and not use your security system, but you almost shot a dog in the process. Even Lex had never kicked puppies. Lena walked over to the door and looked at the monitor that showed the video feed of her front porch. Indeed, there was a large dog and not a serial killer on her doorstep. He looked like a border collie with an Australian shepherd's blue merle coat. His coat was matted with mud up to the shoulder and all around the muzzle. With the immediate threat gone, Lena walked into her kitchen and scooped the leftovers from lunch into a stainless steel mixing bowl. She opened the door enough to slide the bowl out and for her to see if he had a collar. She was miles from the nearest settled house and nowhere near the town. Maybe the universe had finally gotten tired of torturing Lena Luthor and sent her a slight reprieve instead. From the monitor she saw the dog scarfing down the leftovers, getting most of it onto the floor than his mouth. Tomorrow she'd see if he was still sticking around and take him to the vet. No way was a stray dog with any number of diseases going to walk around her house. Lena went into the hall closet and grabbed a set of blankets. When she went back over to the monitor to see how he was doing with dinner she saw he had made himself at home on the wicker chair and was fast asleep.

\---  
\---

The following morning Lena woke up at the usual 5 am. She immediately walked back to her front door trying to keep the hope in her chest down to a minimum. Lena let out the breath she was holding when she saw the dog still on her porch. She realized she hadn't thought a lot of this through. Money was obviously no object, but should she give him a bath? Would the vet say anything or send her away if she showed up with him as is? What if he was aggressive or had a terminal disease? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Kara would know what to do. She pulled her phone out and her finger hovered over her contact. Nope. Lena could handle this herself. Besides calling the deputy at this hour of the morning for dog advice probably wasn't what Kara meant by _call me if you need me. _She grabbed her coat, breakfast, and reached for her keys. Time to wrestle a dog into her Lamborghini.


	8. Potstickers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My girls are useless disaster queers

Kara needed a win. Snapper had rejected her fourth rewrite on her article and seemed no where near to clearing it. And Alex was doubly on her case since she had solar flared during last nights mission. To be fair Alex was right to be cautious, she had gotten three papercuts and a burnt tongue from her coffee and it was only 11. Kara unlocked her phone and typed out a quick message to Lena.

**[Hey! Are you free for dinner tonight :)] **

**[Of course! My place?] **

**[Sounds gr8 It's a date :P] **

**[See you at 7!] **

Kara smiled at her phone, Lena was curious. She was closed off to most, but often didn't hesitate to invite Kara over to her apartment. Kara's feelings for Lena had grown significantly over the course of their friendship. Alex kept saying that best friends don't give best friends a room full of flowers. Kara didn't think too much of it, Lena probably didn't want to deal with the press and the pressure of being in public on a weekday.

\---

Kara didn't know how she would manage to get to anyplace on time if it weren't for superspeed. Even before she was Supergirl she had often cheated a little and gotten ready in the morning a little faster than was humanly possible. She had already sent Lena two seperate texts saying she was going to be late. Walking from CatCo, back to her apartment to get ready, and then to Lena's building in an hour was foolish on her part.

She knocked on Lena's door, fiddling with her shirt collar. Maybe it was nerves or being sans powers, but she had spent quite a bit of time trying to pick out a good outfit. She settled on a pink sweater and jeans. A little understated, but she figured the more skin she covered the less skin damage she'd have to deal with.

Lena opened the door with an enthusiastic hello. The two hugged and walked into Lena's apartment. As much as Kara loved her cozy loft, the space in Lena's apartment was always something she enjoyed. Since they'd gotten closer as friends Kara had encouraged Lena to place more personal touches by painting her a few pieces for her walls. It was a set of two, one was Earth's sunset and the second was Krypton's. She didn't expect her to hang them up so prominently in the entryway, but it created a nice warm feeling in her chest.

She looked over at Lena who was walking into the kitchen. Lena's clothing was a bit more formal than Kara's which used to make Kara a bit nervous. She was more used to it now, but the way she carried herself still took Kara's breath away. Only Lena Luthor would consider a lowcut black dress and heels loungewear.

Lena looked back at Kara expecting a response, she didn't realize she had completely zoned out.

"Oh- Um- Sorry I didn't hear you." Kara fiddled with her glasses

Lena laughed "Your head seems a little in the clouds today, I was saying my cook has the week off and instead of takeout I was going to make you something."

"You were making me dinner?"

Lena smiled back at her before turning into a small frown.

"Was being the operative word."

Kara realized that Lena was a bit nervous herself, as she turned the corner into the kitchen she saw why. The normally pristine kitchen was covered in dough globs and vegetables in various stages of being chopped and seasoned. Kara tried to stifle a laugh. Lena pushed her shoulder and placed her head in her hands.

"Don't laugh, I was going to make potstickers for you. I found a recipe and really there's only like three steps. How hard could they be?"

Kara pulled Lena into a sidehug as they surveyed the kitchen.

"You know, that's what Alex said when Eliza was gone for a science convention one weekend. We ended up ordering pizza, but Eliza found flour in the kitchen for weeks."

They laughed and Kara clapped her hands together.

"Luckily, you are not the only genius in this room. Let's get to work!"

\---

Two and a half hours later and a pristine batch of 52 potstickers were on the counter. The mess was mostly cleaned up from the counters courtesy of Lena. Lena herself was not as clean as the kitchen, her black dress had streaks of white from the flour. Kara smiled at the batch with her hands on her hips. She was almost glad she had solar flared today of all days or else she most likely would be beyond starving at this hour. On the other hand she would not be able to eat all these at once which made her a little sad. Lena echoed her thoughts.

"I'm surprised you aren't all over these." Lena joked

"Really I should be all over you!" Kara blurted out before realizing the implications of what she just said: "Oh- No- I meant it's nice of you to make dinner for me, really."

_Nice save Danvers _

"Well, as first dates go, I guess it wasn't terribly disastrous. Despite my botched attempt at a romantic evening." Lena said before turning and grabbing a different bottle of wine from her cupboard

"Date!" Kara stood stunned

Lena turned with an eyebrow raised, "Yes?" realization dawned on Lena and her face turned a light shade of pink in embarrasment "You meant this to be platonic." She took a step back. "Kara, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to assume you just, well, you said date when you texted a-and I thought-"

Kara kissed Lena mid-ramble. Lena's lips were soft on hers and her tongue was cool and sweet in her mouth from the wine. The feeling in Kara's chest grew warmer, she wasn't friends with Lena. She grabbed Lena's waist and pulled her closer as Lena wrapped her arms around Kara's neck. Kara pulled away reluctantly, her head spinning. She still held Lena as close as possible.

"I guess sometimes I need it spelled out for me," Kara said, now it was her time to be embarrassed.

This time Lena leaned in to kiss her. "Kara Danvers, will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes" Kara smiled kissed and Lena's cheek. Her stomach betrayed her and growled. Lena laughed and grabbed Kara's hand. "Come on, I have The Wizard of Oz queued up."

Kara's heart fluttered and she grabbed the huge plate of food.

"So, um, about those flowers..." Kara said


	9. Lcorp

Lena strode confidently into her office with Jess at her side. Jess was mercilessly typing away on her tablet, reminding Lena of her upcoming appointments and ordering lunch. The day had taken an unexpected turn which warranted setting up meetings for a workday that wasn't supposed to happen. It had been her first successful press conference for Lcorp without being stopped midsentence by someone trying to kill her.

Ever since the rebranding Lena had made it a point to be as transparent as possible, with press conferences and an active social media presence. None of it had really been very receptive until she had gotten Supergirl's stamp of approval. At first, it had irked her that her hard work meant nothing to the people without the Kryptonian. She had brought it up to Kara one night after too many glasses of wine. Her girlfriend was as kind and receptive as ever. Kara had said that the people were already on her side and all Supergirl did was give the public a voice to what was already being thought. Regardless of her soothing voice and optimistic point of view Lena still had a seed of doubt.

That fear and doubt was wiped away less than a week ago. A shape-shifting alien had been robbing banks and stealing cars donning the face of Supergirl herself. The backlash against Supergirl was immediate, a small anti-alien group had been very vocal in their call for getting Supergirl to stand down as National City's hero. This press conference was Lena calling the city to action to not let an imposter's choices sully the good deeds Supergirl had done and would continue to do. As Lena looked onto the crowd she saw something she had never seen before, trust. The crowd that had been silent throughout her opening speech had cheered their approval throwing the anti-alien group by the wayside. The press were firm in their questions, but respectful themselves. Kara was right, the majority of people were on her side and just needed a guiding voice.

Lena sat at her desk and smiled to herself, of course Kara was right. She heard a small thump at her balcony and a familiar voice.

"Hello Miss Luthor."

Lena turned at smiled at Kara in her uniform. She had her hands on her hips doing her best to hold a stoic face.

"Hello Supergirl, to what do I owe this pleasure."

"Oh ya know, work stuff."

Kara's face broke into a smile and she strode over and kissed Lena.

"Thank you, for the press conference, you didn't have to risk your reputation for me."

Lena stood up and wrapped Kara in a hug.

"A hero once told me that people are good and just need a guiding voice to understand the truth."

"Lena Luthor you are my hero." Kara said with teary eyes.


	10. Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's World Mental Health Day and I thought a little bit of a recovering Lena and Kara would be good.  
We love healthy coping skills here.

Lena sat on her couch in her apartment and gazed out the window of her balcony. Kara had just left their lunch in a rush, some crisis downtown had called her away. She left with a quick kiss and a confirmation for game night later at their place that night. Kara knew that gamenight made Lena uncomfortable, she thought it was due to Lena's aversion to being around so many people. Lena didn't correct her thinking, because the truth was sadder and more pathetic.

The reason gamenights made Lena uneasy was _because_ she was so comfortable. As soon as the games started and the snacks were being consumed she'd find herself completely relaxed. She laughed deeper and sat less composed. She yelled during charades and made wild hand gestures. It was all behaviour that Lena knew Lillian would completely abhor and punish her for. It was an unsettling uneasiness that crept into her stomach after everything had been put away and everyone had left. Lena would go over the events of every gamenight and cringe at the way she behaved. It gave her anxiety how good it felt. Of course, only a Luthor would find a problem where there seemingly was none. How could she explain that to Kara. Kara was sweet and good and hopefull. She was also tired of bringing up her niche trauma to Kara who already had so much to deal with on her own.

Kara came back barreling in with a champagne bottle and smelling like burnt rubber. She smiled at Lena and set the bottle down.

"Back so soon?"

"Just a fender bender down the road. My driving PSA's for the elderly really don't seem to be working, but hey free champagne I guess. Sorry, I left lunch in such a rush."

She huffed and took her cape off and hung it on the coat rack.

"Well, if Tesla would get their shit together and allow Lcorp to take over their self driving tech maybe you'd get a day off." Lena quipped

Kara laughed and reheated her plate with her heat vision. She sat down and looked over at Lena who was still in her head about gamenight. She placed her hand over Lena's.

"We can cancel gamenight, it isn't an issue you know."

"What? No, Kara gamenight is great please don't worry about me."

Kara wasn't convinced and kept her hand over Lena's.

"You know I do."

Lena smiled at Kara and took a deep breath. Kara cared and she knew she didn't want their relationship to be withholding. Her therapist had really been pushing on the whole sharing skill lately. Kara looked at her with unwavering eyes and kindness on her face that she knew was genuine.

Lena closed her eyes and took another deep breath. She told Kara she enjoyed game nights and how that was a problem. As she explained herself she expected Kara to laugh or brush her off and chastise her for not having real problems. What she didn't expect was empathy.

"I understand," Kara said with tears in her eyes.

"You do?" Lena was confused, was Kara making a joke?

"Yeah, of course. It's not exactly the same, but it was really hard for me to make friends after I came to Earth. At first, it was because I was so weird, but then I avoided friendships as I got older. I felt guilty that I had gotten a second chance and none of my people did. Every time I would go out in college it felt like I was being indulgent. Eventually, Alex told me that it wasn't up to me to shoulder all of Krypton's hopes and dreams. Only my own. Lillian can't come after you anymore, and you aren't a failure for not living up to her wishes."

Lena had tears streaming down her face as she leaned into Kara.

"I'm sorry I keep bringin up all these issues so often."

Kara was quiet for a beat before letting out a short laugh, "Lena, darling, we have a lot of shit. It's a wonder we aren't always sobbing on the couch."

Lena smiled. Kara swearing always caught her off guard.

"I see Kelly's therapy lessons have been sticking."

"That one's courtesy of Alex."

They laughed and both felt lighter after their talk.

\---

Kara and Lena were handing out drinks as everyone got settled in to play a new game J'onn and M'gann brought.

Lena looked at everyone in the room. A room of her friends. She knew what games every team preferred. Kelly and Alex had their own language during card games. James and Winn knew how to exploit the shortcuts and impossible cheats during mariokart. Nia and Brainy were still getting the hang of working as a team, but pictionary seemed to be their best bet. She knew where everyone preffered to sit and what they liked to eat. Much to her surprise they knew Lena. They knew she preffered red wine and preffered to set on Kara's left side. They knew how to make her laugh and to not bother arguing with her ridiculous scrabble words.

She pushed Lillian out of her mind. She was home and she was safe.


	11. Yellow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> better late than never lol :P

The sand was warm even though it was overcast. Kara sat back on the towel she put down on the beach next to Lena's and ran her fingers through the sand. It was white which fascinated her. After Lena told her sand could also be mossy green and brick red and even be black like ash, Kara had insisted on traveling and seeing as many as possible. Earth never ceased to amaze Kara. Lena had given Kara a necklace with different colored sand. Red, yellow, and blue. Her trademark Supergirl colors.

After spending her formative years with the Danvers, the beach had become a calming place for her. The roaring of the waves and the shifting sand beneath her feet dampened her senses just enough so she could breath and not have to work so hard to shut everything out. Even when the ocean was calm, being able to look out into the vast sea was soothing. She had looked into true emptiness in the phantom zone, and this wasn't that. It was also beautiful in an almost infinite way, a way that she knew she'd never be lost, no matter how long she looked out. The ocean was anything but empty, which was what sometimes made Lena nervous.

After marathoning through shark week it had taken a lot of persuasion to get Lena to visit another beach. Alex always teased Lena's irrational fear of sharks. She stopped teasing soon after a museum simulation had accidentally brought a very real sharknado to life. 

Lena sighed in her sleep, dozing off soon after laying down on the warm beach. Kara smiled over at her girlfriend and shook her head. Kara was supposed to teach Lena surfboarding basics, to help her get to get comfortable being in the ocean again. She had given in pretty quickly, which had suprised Kara. The trademark Lena smirk should have tipped her off that they would most likely be spending the day having a picnic and dozing. While puppy dog eyes never failed to make Lena say yes, a promise of food and a few kisses always changed Kara's tune. Kara reached over and slipped her hand into Lena's as she lay down. She felt the sun being filtered through the clouds and contently closed her eyes.


	12. Angst

It was a rough day for Lena. She didn't notice, it had been a rough week/month/year/life. You name it. Her lawyer had just gotten back to her and confirmed that the paperwork had been signed. The last step to getting the divorce finalized was her own signature. The papers sat on her desk taunting her. It was an easy enough task, she could just pretend it was any other piece of paperwork that flowed through her office. _A quick signature next to the X_. She knew the drill and it should be easy since the difficult parts had passed. It had been a bitch to get her name changed again. Hyphenating had really haunted her. It was even more difficult getting the board to agree to let Kara keep her portion of the company. She _had_ built it herself, it had only been acquired by Lcorp after they married so it was still technically hers. The board had been adamant that the company gave Kara too much leverage in Lcorp. While the divorce was messy, she knew Kara. She'd never stage any sort of coup. Lena was still debating whether or not it was a good move to not sell it off and detach Lcorp completely from Kara. Unfortunately, the overlap would have made it very painful for the lower-level employees and the last thing either of them wanted to do was lay off workers because of a failed marriage. They'd agree to be business partners only, the first board meeting after the press announcement had been tense. All the headlines had pointed to this being Lena's decision which made everything hurt that much more. After Kara revealed her identity, things had gone south. She was relentlessly accused of being in cahoots with Lex and Lillian. When Lex died, the DEO lost the location of Argo City after Lex's cronies hacked into the government alien databases. Kara never said it, but Lena knew a small part of her blamed Lena for not updating Lcorps security software like she promised she would. It all came to a head when Alex had accepted a job offer out of National City to be safer and closer to Kelley. No matter what Lena did she couldn't do anything right. Logically she knew some of it was out of her control, but she still blamed herself. It was easier that way, Lillian was seldom wrong about Lena. She had been off the mark on what would ruin who, but she was right. A Luthor and a Super wasn't in the cards. Lena sat down and signed the stack of papers in front of her, not paying attention to what the titles were. She handed them off to Jess. Somewhere in that stack was her future with Kara Danvers. She lost track where in the stack it was. It was for the best.


	13. Balcony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is 5x01 more in-depth with Kara and Lena's pov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got a little darker than intended but I did want to keep close to what happened on screen

**Kara's pov**

The aftermath of Kara's Pulitzer event had been a mess. The DEO agents evacuated all civilians including Lena. Kara didn't have a chance to find her before she left since she had to at least give a mission report and allow Brainy to analyze the first use of his suit. It was close to 2 am by the time Alex had dismissed her early even though there was still work to be done, but she knew Kara was itching to go see Lena.

When Kara heard Lena's heartbeat enter the theater, her own heart nearly stopped.

Lena was practically all she thought about and even their memories together were what played in her head while she slept. She had been meaning to tell her that she was Supergirl, every time the moment came it was like something was physically keeping her mouth shut and her mind blank. She knew it was fear and she was right, but it was also something deeper. Not even Psi had made her feel the depths of fear that she felt now. Alex called it _love_. Kara did an exaggerated gag when she first mentioned it. Alex dropped the subject pretty quickly when Kara wouldn't take it seriously. She brushed it off and claimed that Alex thought everything had love underlying it because she was so deeply in the puppy love stage with Kelly.

Maybe it was the anticipation of the Pulitzer or the way Lena looked in the dress from the balcony, but adrenaline pumped through Kara as she made her way up to the second floor. It was as if someone else had taken over as she confessed to Lena who she was and her motivation behind it. She was Supergirl and she wanted Lena to love her the way she loved Lena.

Oh wow.

She loved Lena.

And Lena probably didn't love her back.

When Kara had told Alex during the DEO cleanup she had practically laughed in her face. It was quickly followed by her big sister frown. The one she knew was from worry and not anger or stress. Yep. In true Danvers fashion, she had told a girl she was in love with her, mere moments, after realizing it herself. Alex had offered a girls night afterward, but Kara knew she needed to wrap things up with Lena and see how she was doing. It had been a big night for her. She was also practically vibrating with anticipation when she realized she could finally give Lena her own super-watch.

While Lena didn't seem to feel the same way about Kara she still cared for her. Kara replayed the night in her head over and over. After her speech, Lena had said she would always be her best friend. Maybe it was too quick of a one-two punch or she hadn't made it clear she was in love, like, in a really gay way or maybe she just didn't feel the same way. Whatever the case may be, Lena wasn't mad. She had said it out loud a couple of times to make sure it was real.

\---

Kara hovered a few feet from Lena's apartment. She could hear her heartbeat, it was steady and calm. It was a lot steadier than she expected it to be. Maybe she should have called or texted, but she was already here and she needed to talk to Lena before she lost her nerve. She landed loud enough so Lena could hear her, but not so loud she scared her. Lena had changed into casual clothing and said her name. It made Kara's heart skip a beat that Lena was using her name when she wasn't in her Kara Danvers disguise. She agreed things couldn't go back to the way they were and they had to have no secrets. She'd stood there for a beat too long willing her mouth to let her clarify her feelings. Instead, she relented and handed Lena the watch.

_And if you ever need me, all you have to do is call _

She didn't add on the rest of her thought, she had said her piece already. It was unfair of her to push on her for a response she probably didn't even want to give. She would find a way to be okay with being friends with Lena, best friends.

//

**Lena's pov **

Brainy had tried to explain to her a couple of weeks ago that his boxes method had nearly killed him. She didn't press into details, but she had brushed him off. Maybe it was cold and a sample of her hubris, but Lena's boxes had gotten her this far. She wasn't about to leave them now.

Suddenly it was all there, all at once.

Kara standing in front of her, telling her in no uncertain terms that she didn't tell Lena she was supergirl because she knew wanted Lena to love her. A hundred simulations could not have prepared her for this. She had made Kara guilty, angry, scared, indifferent, and downright mean. She had gone through the list of reasons why Kara would keep her secret from her. Lack of trust or protection were the primary reasons she posited that Kara had kept it quiet. Never out of_ love_.

_Boxes _

It had to be an easy out for her, to keep up her naive and self-righteous image. Lena replayed the confession over and over. Kara had been in tears on the verge of a complete break down over her. Nothing added up. It had to have been another one of Lex's games, to have her best friend that she was in love with loving her back. It was a hopeless cliche that Lena had kept in a box deep in the recesses of her mind.

_Boxes _

Kara had most likely discovered her plan to reveal her secret identity. Whatever game she was playing Lena could play twofold. She gave her speech, a different one than planned. It had a little more truth to it than she would have hoped, but that's what she got for improvising. Afterward, she held Kara and told her she would always be her best friend. She looked her in her eyes as she spoke, she saw a flicker of pain cross Kara's eyes. It was the response she wanted, but it left her feeling sick to her stomach. Lena left the theater as soon as the DEO allowed her to. Doubt was seeping deep into Lena's bones. Luthors never doubt.

_Boxes _

Instead of going to her office to finish her work like she usually did to avoid her wandering mind she asked her driver to take her to her apartment. It was all too much. The voices were too loud and the lights were so bright. Every word from the officers and agents had been like arrows going through and hitting Lena over and over and over. Whenever Lena got like this Lex would turn off the lights in her room and give her the only hoodie Lillian allowed him to own. It was probably the only hoodie to ever be in the Luthor household. He would promise no one would go in and dutifully guarded the door. Boxes had been a real help then. The less Lena was like that, the less Lillian hurt Lex for protecting Lena. Except now those boxes were likely the cause of this. Once you shift one poorly stacked pillar everything comes crashing down. Lena debated calling Brainy, but he was Kara's. He was certainly busy tonight with the DEO anyway.

Lena practically ran into her apartment and stripped off the dress that was strategically chosen for this evening. None of it mattered anymore. She stepped into the shower and let the warm water wash the day off. The tears wouldn't come anymore no matter how hard she searched the mess of feelings of the night. Lena laughed an empty laugh. She laughed hard enough for her to have her side hurt.

Lena Luthor forgets how to feel. That would be a fun article to read in the tabloids.

Lena quieted down and turned the shower off. She sat on her bed and replayed the night in her head. If Kara was telling the truth, then she wanted Lena's love. She kept Supergirl a secret to pretend to be only Kara Danvers for Lena. Lex had been right that she had been willfully ignorant of Supergirl. It was right there. Lena had spent countless nights over at Kara's, no one goes to bed wearing glasses. If Lena was being honest with herself she was in love with Kara Danvers and she knew that if she let herself believe she was Supergirl, then they'd have to deal with everything that came with it. Lena wasn't the best at dealing with anything of that sort. Kara had been wrong that Lena only loved Kara Danvers. She loved Supergirl too.

Lena closed her eyes and felt the hot tears on her eyelids.

No, she couldn't be in love with Kara or Supergirl. Human emotions were faulty and Lena knew she craved attention. That's all this was. Rationalizing failure with false love. Lena picked out a pair of jeans and a blouse, she had a feeling Kara would be stopping by after everything was wrapped up at the theater. The events of tonight didn't change anything, Kara would feel the same pain Lena felt. Kara had made her out to be a lovesick fool. Brainy had been wrong, boxes were where emotions belonged and Lena knew exactly how to perfect it.


	14. Jawline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lil road trip for the girls

Lena had been driving for almost 2 hours in complete silence. Kara had fallen dead asleep in the passenger's seat. They had decided to take a weekend trip up to Eliza's, but an unexpected science conference had called her away, leaving Kara and Lena with a rare few days with nothing to do. Jess had assured Lena that her schedule was as clear as can be with no takesies-backsies. She had really been talking to Kara too often. Kara knew that Lena preferred to stay in the city and not venture out too much, which made Lena's suggestion to go on a road trip very out of character.

"Isn't it a bit juvenile to be running away with your great love or whatever they sing about in those cheesy songs you love." Kara had said

"Um, they aren't cheesy, and we are in our twenties, my dear."

To keep Kara from getting J'onn to examine Lena's head she further explained that she'd been thinking about it for some time. Kara had laughed and ultimately fallen in love with the idea of a spontaneous road trip with her girlfriend.

To be completely honest it was more Lena's fantasy to go on a spontaneous cross country trip with the girl of her dreams. She had never been aloud to leave the Luthor residence without an entourage. After she had left to go to school and ultimately live her life she had never been able to completely shake Lex or Lillian's looming presence. Now that they were gone, as terrible as it was, she was able to breathe. It had certainly helped that she had Kara in her life as well as her friends.

Although spontaneous wasn't quite the right word, she did have a fleshed-out gameplan. She had been thinking about this since her teens. Kara did her best not to notice the meticulous notes that Lena had. As much as Lena boasted that this was a casual trip, Kara knew her like the back of her hand. She had pieced together the importance of this between the stories Lena told her of her boarding school experience and the fact that her favorite playlists were solely Indie Folk and Americana.

They spent their time split between gas stations that sold oddities, driving along the coastline and a few tourist traps that were totally worth it. They were on their way back home ahead of schedule as Lena put it. The sun had just begun to set which caused Lena to become something of a driving hazard. She had commented multiple times how this light was perfect for catching all of Kara's best features. Kara would always blush as Lena brushed her hand along her jawline and trace her finger along her lips. As Lena drove she resisted the urge to reach over and brush her hair behind her ear and out of her face.

Kara's mouth twitched giving away the fact that she could feel Lena's eyes on her. Lena laughed and shook her head.

"I know you're awake Ms.Danvers."

Kara broke into a full smile that turned into a yawn

"Well I had to keep an eye out, I know how distracted you can get sometimes." She teased Lena Lena rolled her eyes and made a show of having her hands at ten and two.

"And why is that, there is nothing to distract me besides this beautiful coastline." Lena raised an eyebrow and gave a side smile

She turned the radio up louder before Kara could voice her disagreement. She reached over and took Kara's hand giving a small kiss to her palm. Kara smiled and began singing along to the radio.


	15. Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FORT FORT FORT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to Emmylou by Vance Joy while writing this bit

A power outage was the last thing Lena thought she'd find peace. Logically with no power, she could do no work which gave her a mandatory break. But as CEO she had to think of how the lack of power might affect lab experiments as well as various overseas meetings that she was expected to attend. For better or worse none of those things were on Lena's mind at Kara's apartment. Kara insisted on having Lena over for a _sleepover_. She told Kara that after dating for a few months sort of negated the gal pal phrase of having a sleepover. But Kara had really meant a true sleepover. As Lena walked into the dark apartment she saw a makeshift shelter of bed sheets and blankets in the middle of Kara's living room. Kara's head poked out of the entrance.

"I made a fort! No one without pajamas on is allowed."

Kara threw Lena a pair of bright red pants and one of Kara's old shirts. She loved wearing Kara's old shirts, although the pants were a bit much. After changing she crawled into the surprisingly large fort. Inside were all of Kara's pillows and snacks galore. There was music playing from an old battery-powered stereo. Kara sat with a lantern in her lap, almost buzzing with excitement.

She cleared her voice and put on what Lena described as her Supergirl voice. "Ok so, here we have the foyer and to your left, you'll see the dining area and very spacious bedrooms." Lena giggled and Kara broke character and laughed

"So, what's all this" Lena gestured at everything

"Well, with the power outage and all I figure you'd be kind of stressed. What with the work and having trouble sleeping"

Kara put the lantern to the side and pulled Lena into her lap. Lena put her head on Kara's shoulder and bit her lip trying to not tear up at the kind gesture.

"Thank you." Lena said as she placed a small kiss on Kara's cheek.

They sat and listened to the music play through the room. Kara listened to Lena's heartbeat as it slowed to a steady beat indicating that she'd dozed off.


	16. Cape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is totally what Lena meant by betrayal...

"No capes!" Brainy announced as he entered the sparring room.

Brainy had been experimenting with Kara's suit at the same time Nia had been encouraging him to binge Disney movies. This version still materialized and had pants but was sans cape. Brainy insisted that the cape didn't add as many aerodynamic capabilities as Kara thought. As she was protesting he dropped a large file filled with instances where Kara had flown fine in civilian clothing. It exasperated her that he was probably right. Her cousin's former blanket turned cape had inadvertently been turned back into a security blanket of sorts. She stood in the sparring room with the suit prototype and attempted a simple flight pattern weaving through the room. No less than 6 shattered sparring dummies and half an hour later, Kara had not improved at maneuvering. Brainy was about to call the suit a failure when Lena's watch sounded off.

Kara and Lena still were on a trial run of their friendship since she found out Kara was Supergirl. If Kara hadn't known any better she would have thought Lena was still avoiding Kara, which made the distress signal all the more urgent. With no time to change she shot out of the DEO towards L-corp. Within seconds she saw Lcorp and barreled onto the balcony. The door to the balcony was open and Lena was sitting at her desk.

"Lena? What's wrong? Are you ok? What happened?"

Lena put one finger up as a _hold that thought, please_. She finished reading the page she had in her hand and glanced at her computer.

"Under 5 seconds, you've improved."

"Lena, pardon my french, but what the fuck. That watch is for emergencies. I thought you were in trouble."

Brainy walked through the door followed by a flustered Jess. Lena dismissed her assistant and turned her attention to Brainy.

"So how'd she do?"

"4.193 seconds and a few questionable turns, but otherwise no damage is taken. It seems this suit is not quite the failure you deemed it."

Karac her eyes as it dawned on her that this was a false alarm and a test.

"You tricked me!" Kara scoffed at Brainy and stuck her tongue out at Lena "Who's idea was this!?" She half yelled.

"Well, now that I know your secret Kara, it is in my and the cities best interest that you are in the perfect working condition, my dear."

"I also saw the movie Dumbo last night. It was _quite_ delightful. Have you heard of it?" Brainy interjected

Lena stifled a laugh as Kara looked on in disbelief. Brainy turned and left unceremoniously.

"So, it seems we have a movie for movie night. Tonight?"

Kara smiled at the prospect at a movie night with just the two of them before remembering being double-crossed and went back to pouting.

"Some friend you are."

"_Best_ friend, Kara." Lena smiled which was infectious and made Kara smile against her will.

"Fine, a movie night. But don't forget I'm still furious." Kara moved to the balcony to leave.

"Oh, of course, betrayals like this should never be taken lightly." She feigned hurt "I'll see you tonight."

Kara shook her head and took off towards the DEO unable to shake the warm feeling in her chest.


	17. Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet babes

Lena placed soft kisses down Kara's face. It was date night and they had gone to Kara's favorite dim sum restaurant in National City. They had come back to Lena's apartment and shared a bottle of wine. Well, Lena had had some wine, Kara had a few drops of the special alien alcohol Barry had left behind. They had started a movie, but Lena decided pretty quickly it was boring. She instead turned on some music and shamelessly showed Kara her terrible dance moves. Kara wasn't much better and they both collapsed onto the couch after a few songs. Lena was draped over Kara as their favorite song came on. She knew it was cliche, but she pulled Lena up off the couch and swayed to the music. Lena was a few inches shorter than Kara and fit perfectly under her chin.

"I love you Kara Zor-El."

"I love you too, Lena Luthor."

They danced for a few moments longer before Lena was pulling Kara away to her bedroom.


	18. Kryptonite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gun tw

White.

Flash of green.

White.

Flash of green.

Black.

It was cold. Kara couldn't move, see, or hear. It was like she was at the bottom of the ocean. The last thing she remembered was flashes of green accompanied by a searing pain unlike any other.

_Kryptonite._

She panicked remembering someone trying to kill Lena. The bullet she blocked wasn't a normal one, it was kryptonite. She hoped Lena was ok. The cold overtook her as she let herself be taken by the dark.

\---

It had been a slow day at Lcorp, relatively speaking. She had had enough time for an hour long lunch and only had a handful of emails to send today. Lena had been wrapping up negotiations on the Canadian branch of Lcorp. They had gone smoothly and it had all happened ahead of schedule. The only hitch was a rival tech company that was hoping to do the same as Lena, only she had gotten it done quicker and more efficiently. No double entendre there. She sat on her couch overlooking documents on a seperate project when everything happened.

Three men came in breaking her door and a fourth climed through the balcony. All were clad in black hoodies, jeans, ski masks and hand guns. They looked like amateur bank robbers. She was glad Jess had listened today of all days and actually left for her own proper lunch break.

"Lena Luthor, you're coming with us." One of them said

She stood up from her couch trying to remain unfazed by the four men. She glanced at her desk where the watch Supergirl had given her sat. She didn't wear it since it was so large and drew unecessary attention from colleagues. The last thing she needed was snooping businessmen piecing together that it was a distress signal. She had been working on having it be a smaller statement piece, but hadn't made it an urgent matter.

_Damn it Kara couldn't you have made a smaller watch._

One of the men caught her eye and looked at the watch, he walked over and picked it up. It easily popped open revealing the S shaped button.

_ When this was over she was going to have a chat with Kara about discreet tech._

The four men all looked over at the watch. The distraction gave Lena a second to reach down and grab the gun behind the couch cushion. She underrestimated how distracted they were and shots rang out before she had a chance to pull the trigger herself. A flash of red and blue was in front of her. Relief washed over her. It was short-lived as she realized something was wrong. Supergirl collapsed in a mound in front of her as DEO agents stormed her office and quickly apprehended the four men. She knelt down and grabbed Kara. Radioactive green ran up her neck. She grabbed Kara's face as her eyes closed and her breathing was shallow. Tears rolled down Lena's face.

_No please not yet._ _I need you._

Alex was beside Kara yelling for J'onn. He grabbed Kara and left in a flash to DEO headquarters. Lena was shellshocked at she tried to process the events of the last couple minutes. It felt like hours as she sat in the room adjacent to Kara waiting for an update. She knew they had somewhat stabilized her, but were unable to take the bullets out. Her healing ability had closed the bullets in, leaving them in her body and leaving Alex unable to take them out. The only way to bring Kara's healing down enough to break her skin and perform the extraction surgery was use red sun lamps. Unfortunately, the yellow sun and healing were the only thing keeping her alive.

Lena had an epiphany.

\---

The next thing she saw was bright orange. She felt warm again and a hand in hers.

"Kara? Kara come on."

Lena's face slowly came into focus. Lena was okay. Kara attempted to sit up before a searing pain shot down her spine.

"Nope, lay down. We just fixed you up." Alex's voice sounded out as she entered the room. She strode across the room and put a hand on her shoulder. Her face softening as the worry left her body.

"What happened?" Kara asked, her voice raspy

"You caught kryptonite bullets, thanks to Lena you're still alive." Kara smiled and realized how tired she was. She felt her eyes closing and Lena's hand tightening around her own.

\---

Over the next couple of days as she recovered Lena stayed by her side. She explained that after learning about the red sun/yellow sun dilemma she could potentially localize the wavelengths of both using nanobots. Alex had been weary, but they ultimately decided to use them to extract the bullets. Lena used a few nanobots equipped with red sun rays to open and enter the bullet wounds. It had taken a couple tries and Kara would be left with a few scars, but it had ultimately worked.

Kara was as grateful as can be and her heart warmed at everything Lena had done for her. Lena insisted it was the least she could do since the DEO uncovered that the men had been assassins sent by the tech company rival. Apparently, they had worked with Lex before and had known that it was a possibility Supergirl would show up, which explained the kryptonite guns. Kara shook her head and did her best to reassure Lena that this wasn't her fault. Lena was teary as she explained the situation.

"I just don't know what I'd do without you."

Kara grabbed Lena's hand and gave her a small kiss on her knuckles.

"Me neither. And I'm not planning on leaving you anytime soon."

Lena blushed and looked down as Kara smiled at her. She meant it with her whole heart. Lena brushed a tear from her eye.

"So, about that watch."


	19. Button-ups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really just was trying to rationalize why they changed Kara's look in season 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's suspend our disbelief and just say the haircut and new supergirl pants suit happened during the same weekend.

Kara was doing a spring cleaning of sorts. The DEO had been clearing outdated weaponry and hardware which included her old suit prototypes. It had prompted Alex to encourage Kara to do the same with her day to day wardrobe. Alex had nearly had a heart attack when she found out Kara got bangs. Nia had been the one to help execute Kara's impulsive idea. Neither had really taken into account how suspicious it would be for Kara and Supergirl to show up for work on Monday with the exact same haircut at the exact same time. Kelly suggested a new wardrobe direction for Kara Danvers could help given that Supergirl had pants now. Alex had given up being the voice of reason and decided not to point out that matching haircuts and swapped wardrobe was peak lesbian activity. Although, if she was being honest the tabloids were too stuck on whether Kara and Lena were dating to delve into Kara and Supergirl. Thank god Kara was oblivious to all the gossip. That Sunday they all went out shopping for anything but slacks, button-ups, and cardigans. The result was a set of tight dresses that showed off Kara's arms. Kara insisted it was a personal choice and not because Lena had also commented once that her arms were nice and she needed to show them off more. It wasn't until Kara went home to put away her new clothing that it struck her how they were all so similar. Oh well, it was a new direction, and experimenting with clothing was always fun. She was older and felt that these dresses gave off an air of professionalism. As she went through her closet and took out shirts she seldom wore her phone went off with a few of Lena's texts.

_Hey, are we still on for dinner?_

Shoot! With the complete makeover taking over her weekend she had completely forgotten about the plans she made with Lena. She shot off a few quick texts explaining the situation. Lena replied quickly with an offer to help reorganize and bring over some Thai.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door. Kara was grateful for the distraction, she had really just made a bigger mess of her closet. How did one person own so many clothes?

Lena came in and looked around at the disaster zone that Kara had made.

"Well, if I had known the scale of this operation I would have gotten twice as much take-out."

"Is it that bad?" Kara looked around nervously, realizing she had 3 navy button-ups with similar patterns on them next to one another.

"It's something, I love your bangs by the way!" Kara's stomach fluttered and Lena set the food down on the counter "No offense Kara, but are you alright?"

"What? Of course, why wouldn't I be."

"Well, back in boarding school after my first girlfriend broke up with me I went through what Lillian called my rioting phase. Dyed hair, tramp stamp, new clothes. What prompted this makeover?"

Kara stood speechless at the sudden influx of information. Lena had a tattoo? A girlfriend?? She let out a nervous laugh.

"You? Lena Luthor, had a rebellious phase?"

"Oh please, Kara, who didn't." Lena waved her off and picked up a hanger with one of Kara's new dresses

"This is a new style, no more button-ups? You look so good in them."

Kara felt heat rush up to her face and her heart was racing at the comment. She didn't say anything as she watched Lena pick through the clothes that were layed out and made comments absentmindedly. She didn't realize how nervous she was, hoping for Lena's approval. Kara's eyes widened. Since when was Lena's approval something she had in her head. A few moments passed before Kara found her voice again.

"Do you not like the dress?" Her voice was small and she cursed herself internally at how embarrassing the question sounded

Lena looked up at her with a curious expression on her face.

"Oh Kara, no! I think they're beautiful and I'm sure they look amazing."

"But..." Kara interjected expecting a catch for some reason

"But nothing. I enjoy this new direction you've decided to go, more importantly, do you like the dresses?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm just trying out new things."

"Trying to impress someone?" Lena looked up and eyed her

"No! I mean maybe, I mean w-what?" Kara stammered and shoved her sweating palms into her pockets.

Lena walked over and placed a hand on Kara's bicep.

"I know."

"You do?" Kara felt fear as she realized her feeling for Lena weren't as hidden as she thought.

"Of course, it's obvious you have a crush on Supergirl."

Kara's heart almost stopped. She let out a short laugh before realizing Lena was serious. Lena continued.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed, who hasn't thought about all the possibilities with those muscles?"

Now she was sure her heart had stopped, this was all too much.

"And honestly, I could stare at those blue eyes forever, those_ lips_ could-"

"Lena, I'm Supergirl!" she shouted it out before she could think through what would happen next.

Lena looked at her with a knowing smirk and no shock on her face at all.

"You don't seem surprised."

"My own brother is an evil mastermind and best friends with Superman aka Clark Kent. I figured it out the moment you walked into my office, Ms. Danvers. I don't give just anyone unfettered access to my office. I figured you'd tell me in you're own time, but really Kara. Bangs?"

"Nia said it was a good idea!"

Lena laughed and turned away to look back at the clothing.

"Well, it's a good thing you look cute anyway. I'm sure the press is going to love Supergirl's new look too."

Kara blushed for the millionth time before remembering Lena's lewd comments. Before she could say anything else Lena guessed her thought process.

"I don't take back anything I said" she whispered throwing a small smile over her shoulder.

Kara had survived hordes of deadly aliens and she didn't know how she was going to make it through this. Lena certainly wasn't going to make it easy for her.


	20. Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not Kelly Olsen approved

She was considered the girl of steel. A beacon of hope for others and a flagship for truth and justice. The weight of worlds on her shoulders. If she couldn't feel it in her bones after a particularly rough fight, she would see in her mind's eye.

For years she looked up to her cousin Clark. She envied him until she saw what he was protecting her from. How lonely it must have been for him to have lost his heritage and be one of the first Supers. When he left her with the Danvers, she thought it was because it was too much responsibility. As she grew older she realized he was doing his best to keep the weight off of her. Unfortunately, being so old when she was sent off from Krypton and her time spent in the phantom zone she was already carrying a backbreaking weight. While Kara had misplaced envy towards Clark, he had the same to her. He believed she could have the normal life that he used to have. The reality was far from it.

Clark had never had his world torn away from him, he'd never felt the pain and rage of looking your parents in the eye and being sent away. He never knew what it was like to be thrown into emptiness and stare it in the face. The pain of knowing your parents put you there and knowing they were probably dead, for better or worse. He didn't know what it was like to know that you'd never hear the songs of Krypton and see a rising red sun. Kara even missed the most mundane things that she'd never see again and barely remembereded. Memories that were briefly triggered by a smell or phrase. Kal had done his best to learn kryptonese, but it was broken and accented. The conversations were devoid of understanding and a reminder of a lost culture. She had spent a long time letting go of her anger towards everyone and most importantly herself. She convinced those around her that she'd made herself lighter by being Supergirl and righting her family's wrongs, but she had just swapped one burden for another.

On the dark days and nights, she could see all the faces of the ones she'd lost, it'd be difficult to stop herself from spiraling. When she was younger it was Alex who helped pull her from the edge and help her make it through. She'd always been grateful for her older sister. She didn't fully understand the bond between Clark and Lois until Lena showed up. It was different with her than Alex, not better or worse, just different.

Lena had her own struggles and she was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for. They were equals and helped lift each other up when things got tough. The first time Kara let Lena in fully, it was mostly Lena's doing. Lena knew something was wrong with Kara and despite having said no to several requests to see her she showed up at her door anyway. Food in one hand and a book in the other. Kara hadn't said anything as she came in and set her stuff down. They sat on the couch as Lena read one of her favorite stories out loud. She had her head in Lena's lap and at one point fell asleep. The next morning Lena hadn't moved an inch, her hand still tangled in Kara's hair and head dipped on the couch fast asleep. It was a few more instances like that until Kara fully opened up to Lena. She was grateful to have someone there that let her open up at her own pace, never pressing, but ever present. The two talked all night and traded trauma between wine and tears.

The missions and training had gotten harder over the years, but for the first time in a long time, the two felt lighter. They were stronger together.


	21. Blue

Lena sat down on the stool in front of her lab bench. She didn't know what time it was, but her head felt foggy and she was frustrated. The prototype Andrea had given her wasn't cutting it, the tech was almost there. Key word being almost. It was so frustrating being so close to having the right answer, but having it be just out of reach.

Hope walked back into the room after going to grab some nonsense tool Lena really didn't need. Having Hope around had been a big help at first, but as time went on she had trouble looking at her and interacting with her. Hope wore Eve's face with no moral qualms, to any other AI creator perhaps it would have been alarming. To Lena, it meant that Hope knew what needed to be done, but Lena was still human. Every so often Hope would give an expression so close to that of Eve that she'd forget what she'd done. Pangs of guilt would run through her stomach, pangs that Lena would shove into a box and not dare dwell on.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Luthor. You are scheduled to be downtown in two hours."

Lena had almost forgotten about the charity event she was hosting for the children's hospital. She grabbed the blue lenses from the microscope and placed them back into their case.

"Thank you, Hope. Call my car and close up the lab."

"Yes, Ms. Luthor."

//

The fog in her head had gotten worse on the car ride back to her apartment. She stood staring at her closet. The dress had already been picked for that night, by Hope, of course. She had calculated the rotation of outfits for her for 'maximum efficiency' which just meant the press wouldn't be running a dozen different articles on how she wore that dress two weeks ago. It was exasperating what the media decided to focus on. If she liked an outfit she should be able to wear it as often as she wanted. She put the designated dress back into her closet and went to decide against it. Fuck it, if the press was going to grill her over her fashion choice at her charity even that was their problem. She reached over and a fitted blue suit. It was one of her favorites, the last time she wore it was to meet Lex at the white house. That had felt like a lifetime ago, she almost longed for it.

Everyone around her assumed without her brother and mother in her life that her life would get easier. Hell, she thought so too. Unfortunately, the universe had other plans for her. Lex had dropped the Supergirl bomb which rocked Lena to her core. She spent too many sleepless nights devising the perfect plan to knock Kara down a few pegs, and then she had to go and ruin it all. She hadn't expected Kara's confession, a small part of her believed it. The logical part of her didn't at all. If she couldn't see that her best friend was Supergirl, how could she believe that any other part of her wasn't just a construct. At one point in time, she'd looked into those perfect blue eyes and believed every word they said. She clung onto whatever Kara Danvers said, like some lovesick puppy.

No, things had gotten more difficult without the looming threat of her family, it was a sick joke.

Lena showered and changed into her blue suit. She reached in her pocket and felt a crinkled paper. Odd. Lena never left things in her pockets, she had lost one too many things when her clothes would go out to get cleaned. She pulled it out of her pocket and on it was a worn note with smudged ink.

** _-my hero :)-_ **

There was a period of time before Lex was captured when Kara would place notes for Lena to find. Most were cheesy Instagram motivational quotes, but some were simpler. A couple even said I love you. Kara really went to great lengths to pretend to be her best friend. This note must have gone through the cleaners a few times, considering the state it was in. Lena smiled before scowling. She balled up the note and threw it into the trash. She pulled the coat and settled her collar as she looked in the mirror. She didn't need Kara Danvers to be her hero, she could be her own. Even if it killed her.


	22. Donuts

Lena had a spreadsheet. At first, it had just been for research and a potential paper.

> Metabolic Activity Of A Kryptonian Under Yellow Sun.

She had observed Kara's intake of fatty foods and been both disgusted and enthralled. Kara had been happy to participate, if not for Lena's paper or DEO research, but for an excuse.

_This is science, Lena. I need to order 6 pizzas. _

She just shook her head and let her continue her ridiculous antics. So far Kara ate the equivalent of 2 bodybuilders on a normal day. After going out as Supergirl she would eat closer to 6 times that of a bodybuilder. Lena once joked that she would love to see her and The Rock go head to head. Kara had taken her very seriously and a pancake eating contest was set next month. For charity of course. Lena shouldn't have been surprised, anything regarding food was to be taken very seriously around the Kryptonian.

So seriously in fact, that she knew this would be a trying few days for both of them. For both ethical and moral reasons, she decided to bring it to Kara and Alex's attention to what she was doing. Alex had pointed out that in order for this to be a thorough and comprehensive study Kara would have to have to eat a variety of foods and not just from her top 3 restaurants. Lena agreed, much to Kara's displeasure. They had gone through a typical food week for a baseline metabolic rate which Kara had no trouble with. Up next was a diet that emphasized leaner foods and vegetables. Kara had nearly fainted at the idea of eating vegetables for a couple of days. Two hours into it and Lena had already gotten 15 texts from Kara. She asked Jess to push her meetings to later in the week. She rationalized the move since technically she was still working if she was observing a test subject. Lena stopped by her favorite vegetarian restaurant and ordered an impossibly large order. Lena lied and said it was for her office, the cashier didn't bat an eye. The second she walked into Kara's apartment she was ambushed by Kara. As soon as she saw the bag of food she rolled her eyes and gave a dramatic sigh.

"You know Lena, in the interest of science, I'm not sure I'm the one who would yield the best results."

Lena just laughed

"I see you've been talking to your sister."

Kara made a face and whined about the food choices, she walked over to the couch and flopped over.

"Well well, who would have thought. All it took for a Luthor to beat a Super was a new diet."

Kara looked up and glared from the couch.

"You owe me so many donuts"


	23. Relationship

Lena was never any good at relationships.

Since she was young she had trouble setting boundries. After the Luthors adopted her she did her best to be accepted. It wasn't until she was older and she could put a reason to the unsettling feeling whenever she was around Lillian that she truly withdrew from those around her. After her mother's death, she thought being sent to the Luthors was punishment for not helping her mother and making her go away. Lex was sweet and did his best to teach her how to act and wht behaviors to shy away from to keep Lillian happy. The back and forth between Lillian and Lionel made her dizzy from time to time. Lionel's moods could change at the drop of a hat with seemingly no direction or reasoning behind it. As Lex got older he started doing the same. Lena thought it was the people he decided to hang out with and work with that caused him to have a sudden shift in temperment. After the more violent shifts in his mood, she closed herself off even more. If the people around Lex could make him turn into someone so unrecognizable then she needed to be careful herself. Lex was always the one who was more level-headed of the two. He was smarter and thought strides ahead of Lena. After learning of her true relation to the Luthors her fears went deeper. Not only did she have a societal dispotion to hurt the people around her, now she had a biological one. Through boarding school, she had her trysts with other girls. Those never lasted more than a few encounters. Lena liked it that way. After she graduated it was easier to isolate herself. Being a lab rat had its perks, although working for Biospheer Tech had its own challenges. Jack Spheer was the founder and had hired Lena personally, they had worked previously getting their degrees from the same university. He had always been an open and honest person which Lena appreciated in a lab partner. It also meant that the relationship was rather one sided. He was probably the closest to being her best friend like anyone else. Which made everything so much more difficult after his death. Everyone she got remotely close to either died, almost died or went to prison. It was best to keep everyone around her at arm's length for their benefit. Lena was a liability and Kara Danvers didn't seem to notice. For a reporter, she had a beautiful outlook on life. She never doubted Lena and stood by her side, even with the cards stacked against her. For anyone else, such a naive outlook would be harmful, but it only seemed to benefit her. She would never tell her, but she looked up to her. It must take a planet's worth of strength to see so much destruction and to have been burned so many times, and never given in to the anger or hate.

Lena had many fears, although she would never admit it to anyone and rarely herself. Her biggest was hurting Kara and ruining the bond that the two shared.


	24. Catco

Kara sat at her desk and tapped her foot restlessly. She had a 'date' with Lena in half an hour and it felt like her stomach was doing somersaults. She knew it wasn't technically a date since they'd been getting lunch together every few weeks, but this time was different. At least she hoped it would be. The previous night there had been a Lcorp led celebration held to celebrate the new quarter for Catco writers. Kara thought the universe was playing a cruel trick on her. She had just begun to figure out the confusing feelings she had for Lena and was doing her best to keep them under wraps. She valued friendship with Lena more than a romantic relationship and didn't want to risk it since she didn't even think Lena thought of her that way.

That was, until last night.

Since it was a relatively small gathering the two had been left alone towards the end of the night. Kara knew of Lena's propensity to go back to work and stay late at Lcorp, so she lingered behind to encourage Lena to take a night off and actually celebrate for once. Instead of going back to Lcorp, Lena suggested sharing a glass of whiskey. One turned into two which turned into three. Maybe it was the open bar or the satisfaction of having a relatively drama-free few weeks, but Lena had been particularly touchy. They sat on the floor of her office and swapped stories, it felt light, almost like a sleepover. Kara couldn't help but notice how close Lena sat next to her, usually, Lena had an invisible bubble around her. Whether it was on purpose or not, she was close enough to really look at Lena. She could see the small indent above her right eye, the way her eye color shifted with the light, and most prominently she could see the bold red on her lips. She did her best not to stare at them and remain engaged in the conversation she was having. If Kara had been paying more attention she would have caught Lena giving her the same look and looking at the quirks of Kara's face as well. For the millionth time it seemed, Kara pulled her eyes up from Lena's lips to her eyes. Only this time Lena was closer and staring right into her eyes. They were silent for a few beats before Lena leaned forward, her usual confidence wavered and she stopped inches away from Kara's face as if to ask for permission to continue. Kara sat frozen, her breath held deep in her lungs. The alcohol hadn't affected her due to her Kryptonian physique, but having Lena so close had a similarly intoxicating effect.

The realization that she wasn't actually drunk, but Lena was brought Kara back to herself. She didn't want to take advantage of Lena. Kara wanted Lena to choose her, not just give her a drunken kiss. Kara pulled back slightly and turned her head to take a sip of her drink. Kara wanted to pretend as if she didn't notice what might have just happened. She kept a steady eye on her drink as she tipped it back and continued with the conversation. If Kara had looked over at Lena she would have seen the flicker of disappointment across her face. Lena was quick to recompose herself and play along with Kara. Their conversation ended soon after that and Lena ordered a car for herself and one for Kara with a promise to head to her apartment and not back to her office.

On her way home Kara couldn't calm the butterflies in her stomach or cool the flush of her cheeks. She smiled to herself as she stared out the window, going over the moment again and again. She pictured herself leaning forward and meeting Lena's lips. Kara closed her eyes and tipped her head back against the seat. These feelings were going to kill her if she didn't do anything about them. The conclusion resulted in lunch plans and a somersaulting stomach.

Kara glanced at her watch and realized she had been spacing off long enough for her to be 5 minutes to Lunch with Lena. Kara stood up and gathered her bag. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Lena's face flashed in her mind's eye and her stomach settled a spell. Kara's phone buzzed.

> **[Lena]: Still on for lunch? **

Kara smiled and let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding.

> **[Kara]: Yep! Omw :)**


	25. Suit

Lena sat at her apartment with a glass of wine in one hand and her tablet in the other. She preferred to work in her office, but Kara had said she was going to stop by later. It had been a few weeks into their relationship and already Jess had noticed that Lena hadn't been staying as late. She knew Jess had more tact than to just blatantly comment on her work schedule, but she could read the knowing looks whenever she sent her home at a reasonable hour. She had actually been getting more work done, which baffled her. Working 18 hour days wasn't the best and having a reasonable sleep schedule was maybe the way to go. She also knew that having a Kryptonian wrapped around you didn't hurt.

The first couple nights Kara slept over she had been incredibly anxious and Kara could sense it. She knew that Lena's insomnia tended to get the better of her. Kara had held her and ran her fingers through her hair until Lena dozed off. It had been the best sleep she'd ever had, she woke up the next morning at her usual 5 am, and felt well-rested enough to work two 18 hour days.

Tonight Kara said she wanted to watch a movie and that she'd pick up dinner for both of them. She flew in through her usual balcony entrance and landed with a small thud.

Lena turned around to see Kara with two giant bags of take-out and a big smile plastered on her face.

"Honey, I'm home!" Kara called out with a faux deep voice and laughed

Lena stood up and greeted Kara with a small kiss

"Did you buy out the whole restaurant!" Lena joked before taking the bags and setting them on the counter

"No" Kara gave an unconvincing scoff "They were closing anyway and had extra food. They actually said it was a thank you for saving their restaurant."

"My Hero." Lena gave a dramatic wave of her hand before frowning and processing what Kara had said, "What happened?"

"Just a couple hooligans trying to rob the place. No big deal." Kara said it nonchalantly

Lena ignored the use of the word 'hooligan' and stepped closer to Kara. The smell of gunpowder hit her now that she wasn't holding the food. She could see the streaks of dirt and ash on Kara's suit. She looked up and saw a curious look on Kara's face as her stomach twisted into knots.

"Lena, what's wrong?" Lena didn't answer and cupped Kara's cheek. The realization of her girlfriend being Supergirl hit her all at once. She looked down at the red and yellow crest on her chest and her hand slid down from where it was on Kara's face down to the outline.

"You just need to be careful," Lena said softly

The goofy demeanor Kara had earlier melted away into something softer as she understood what Lena really meant. She pulled Lena into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Kara closed her eyes and meant every word.

After a few seconds Lena pulled away and gave Kara a small kiss on her jaw.

"Good." Lena smiled and looked back at the food on the counter. "Because honestly, I don't think I could eat all that myself."

The unexpected joke made Kara laugh and roll her eyes. They moved to the counter to unpack the food and Kara made a mental note to wash off the smell of a fresh mission before coming to date night.


	26. Coffee

It had taken Lena months and use of her various degrees, but she had finally cracked it.

Kara's coffee order was a simple thing in theory, but Lena found that her heightened senses made her picky. It wasn't that Kara wouldn't drink coffee outright, but years of learning each other's quirks allowed Lena to tell when the coffee just wasn't right. In theory, it should have been easy, analyze the coffee that Kara enjoyed and replicate it. Unfortunately, the very nature of a good cup of coffee was that after it wasn't hot the drink's flavor quickly decayed. This made it difficult for her lab to fully analyze. At first, she thought it was silly that she was sitting in her high tech lab going over the molecular compounds of coffee. But Kara's smile when she drank a perfect cup absolutely melted her. She wanted it to be perfect.

The balance of caffeine, tannins, and various proteins was delicate. She processed her mixture and filled her first bag of Lcorp approved coffee beans. With a sense of triumph, she made her way over to Kara's apartment, they were due for brunch and she was excited for her to give the mix a trial run.

\---

She entered the room and could smell pancakes coming from the small kitchen. As terrible a diet as Kara had, she certainly knew how to cook junk food. Kara greeted Lena with a small smile over her shoulder, most of her focus was on not burning the pancake she was flipping. Lena set to making the coffee and the two worked in comfortable silence. After a few dozen pancakes were made, they sat and Lena brought out two cups of coffee. Lena looked over nervously as Kara sat behind a tower of pancakes. She watched as Kara took a small sip of the cup.

"Hmm, this is new. Did you pick up a new brand?"

"Maybe, Do you like it?" Lena held her breath

"Yeah! It's good, thanks!" Kara replied seemingly satisfied with the drink. To anyone else, except maybe Alex, it would seem that Kara thoroughly enjoyed the coffee. Unfortunately, Lena wasn't just anyone else. She caught the small eyebrow quirk that tended to happen when Kara wasn't being entirely truthful.

Kara was already digging into her stack of pancakes when Lena decided to get to the bottom of it.

"Why don't you like it?" She didn't mean to sound as exasperated or whiny as it came out

Kara paused mid-bite "What? Lena the coffee's good."

Lena pressed on with a small but pointed stare.

"I don't hate it." Kara admitted, "It's unique."

With a sigh Lena pulled the bag she had filled earlier, the Lcorp logo giving away the true origin of the beans.

"Oh, Lena, you didn't have to. It's full of distinctive flavors."

Lena scoffed "It can't be that bad." She reached over for her own cup and was not prepared for the overwhelming taste of week-old coffee grounds mixed with something else equally as terrible. "Oh my god Kara, how did you drink that? I'm so sorry."

She didn't know how she managed to miss the mark so terribly, these were an exact replica mix of Kara's ideal cup of coffee, down to the molecule.

Kara was caught off guard before stifling a laugh "Don't be, it's just coffee."

"You're such a coffee snob though, I wanted to do this for you so you could always have a perfect cup of coffee. I've analyzed your favorite cups down to be molecularly immaculate."

Kara fidgeted in her seat and looked down at her hands.

"Er, yeah about that." There was a long pause, "I can't taste coffee" Kara looked sheepish as she stared down at her hands.

"Look, you don't have to make me feel better. I will be the first to say this coffee is terrible." Lena made a face at her cup.

Kara laughed "I'm serious. I got used to just copying human patterns of eating and when I started as an assistant to Cat it was pretty clear how important coffee was to humans. It just sort of tastes like warm nothing. Apparently my reactions to it were a bit over the top, and soon enough I was labeled a 'coffee snob'."

Lena looked at Kara in confusion "So you just drink warm water for fun?"

"Wait, Water is supposed to taste like nothing?"


	27. Smut

I don't really write smut so this is just a hold-over chapter in case I decide to come back and revisit this series  
:/


	28. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Remembering her comes in flashbacks And echoes Tell myself its time now Gotta let go But moving on from her is impossible When I still see it all in my head In burning red]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really just listening to the Red album by Taylor Swift while writing this...that counts right?

Lena replays the night in her head over and over again. It wasn't too long after Kara had revealed herself to be Supergirl that another secret Kara had been carrying around was out. She wanted to be okay with the Kara/Supergirl ordeal, she really did. It was unfortunately all soured by her brother. Even dead Lex had been sure to make his lasting impression. He practically threw it in her face, how stupid she had been. In the deep recesses of her mind she knew her best friend was Supergirl, she had willfully ignored all the signs. From flying in on a bus, to having her cousin be Lex's best friend turned enemy. It was all too easy to put together and even easier to keep the puzzle unfinished. Her little boxes were strong and held back a myriad of awful memories, it was also well trained at catching thoughts before they unravelled into possible trauma. One being that she loved Kara Danvers. Another that Kara Danvers loved her too.

The former had been confirmed by Kara herself. It was a relatively cool night and Lena had stayed late at Lcorp, not working on anything in particular when Kara showed up on her balcony. She had some take-out and a bottle of wine. Before even setting the food down Lena could feel the waves of nervousness coming off of her. The confession came all at once in one breath, as if she stopped to breathe she'd lose her nerve. All Lena wanted to do was tell Kara the same, that she loved her too. That was their agreement, no secrets. The pain in Kara's face when Lena lied and told her she didn't feel the same way would haunt her for the rest of her days. It was an irony that wasn't lost on Lena. She was keeping this secret to protect Kara and more selfishly herself. In the same way Kara kept Supergirl a secret from Lena. The parallel gave her a sense of peace and allowed her to fully forgive Kara with new understanding.

Growing up, Lex had always been there to point out how Lena would pull away from whoever had her attention at the time. Jack had been the first significant other she had who actually called her out on it as their relationship had gotten more serious. He had probably been the only person to see Lena's isolation as fear and not just simple disinterest. He was right and Lena made the decision to leave before things got 'worse'. Their relationship hadn't gotten to the level of intimacy that she had with Kara and it still had hurt for far too long. When he died Lena made a subconscious decision to not get herself tangled in a mess like that again. The people she loved always got hurt and she knew it was selfish of her, but she couldn't take it anymore.

Lena sat at her desk with a glass of whiskey in her hand. There wasn't a drink strong enough in the universe to take away the ache in her chest. She closed her eyes and Kara's face filled with pain flashed in her mind. Her face felt hot as tears ran down her cheeks. A light tap at her balcony door made Lena jump. It was Kara again, this time empty-handed and changed out of her super suit. She had her hair down without glasses and was wearing dark slacks and a simple pullover. Lena held her breath before realizing she was staring and motioned for Kara to come in. Kara was fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater, but the nervousness from earlier was nonexistent. Even without her suit on, she could see the gentle strength that Kara held in her shoulders. Lena turned and wiped tears from her face before standing and greeting Kara.

"Kara I-" she didn't get a chance to finish before Kara cut in.

"Why are you lying to me." Kara said softly.

Lena looked at Kara at a loss for words and Kara explained.

"I could hear your heartbeat when you told me you didn't have the same feelings, I know you like the back of my hand Lena. I left because I thought I was just looking for reasons, but I know you."

"That's the problem!" Lena exclaimed with new tears threatening to spill down her face.

The emotion shook Kara's calm demeanor and she stepped forward to grab Lena and steady her. She stopped a step away when Lena shied away from the motion.

"Everyone I love leaves or gets hurt or dies!" Lena was crying at this point "I can't lose you too."

Kara closed the distance between them and pulled Lena in for a hug that Lena gave in to.

"I can't predict the future, Lena, but I'm not going anywhere. More importantly, I don't want to." Kara said it with such intensity that Lena almost believed it and pulled away from Kara's embrace.

"I'm a Luthor, Kara. We're not easy people to love." Kara looked at Lena with concern and care.

"Then why was it so easy to fall in love with you."


	29. Heels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This scene was one hundy percenty based on The Bold Type 1x01 when Jacqueline enters her board meeting and Black Car by Leon Else is playing in the background.
> 
> Different outfit tho

Kara walked into Lcorp. The building was menacing and she did her best to steady her breathing. Snapper had sent her to sit in on a board meeting that Lena Luthor was holding. Journalists from four news outlets were selected and she was ecstatic that she had been one of the lucky few to be chosen. James had said it was because no one had the guts to talk to the latest Luthor to visit National City. Her reputation preceded her as well as the entire Luthor empire. Kara didn't care, it was her first chance at a solo gig and she had faced Cat Grant. She could handle Lena Luthor. As she got off the elevator she was directed to the board room by Lena Luthor's assistant. She was nice and gave Kara a boost of confidence, if her assistant was like this then Lena Luthor couldn't be that bad.

The room they were in was long and had a large screen on one end. Three of the walls were floor to ceiling windows with frosted designs. It was filled with a U-shaped table and surrounded by all the higher-ups that worked under Lcorp. In the back of the room stood three people holding their writing pads. As Kara walked closer she saw the large press lettering identification on the lanyard around their necks. She took her place beside the three and they greeted her warmly. The room fell silent and she turned to the door. She could see heels approaching the room, black six-inch stilettos with red soles. The frosted windows obscured who it could be, although the silence in the room was a dead giveaway. The door opened and everyone in the room collectively held their breath. The Luthor wore fitted black pants, a double-breasted suit jacket hung around her shoulders like a cape and underneath was a sleeveless v-neck blouse. Her heels sounded sharply throughout the room and she waited until she was in front of the screen to greet and address the room. She seemed to feed off the fear and apprehension of her employees, but she softened when it was the journalists' turn to ask their questions. Kara had gone first with her set of questions since the three others sent seemed to be as afraid as everyone else. Lena Luthor was kind but vague with her answers on where she planned to steer the newly named Lcorp. When Kara pressed for clarification she received a withering stare and did her best to match it. Kara could practically see the board members begin to sweat at the uneasy interaction. Before Lena continued with the questions from the other journalists Kara thought she almost got a look of satisfaction from her.

\---

Kara sat at her desk typing up the draft for the article on Lcorp when Snapper yelled for her attention.

"Ponytail!"

Kara stood up quickly and practically ran before Snapper yelled for her again.

"I was just finishing on the article if-"

"About that, I don't know what you did but I called you in because Ms. Luthor requested you to cover the unveiling of her new projects."

Kara could feel the blood rushing in her ears.

"What are you still standing around here for! Get back to work."

With that Kara turned and left back to her work. Her mind reeling and the thought of Lena Luthor pinballing in her head.


	30. Love

It was all very new for both Kara and Lena. One would think that after 4 years of courting each other, actually being in a relationship would make things easier. Alex had almost laughed at Kara's gay panic the first time she had kissed Lena. Alex remembered her own blunders and butterflies in her stomach after she had kissed Maggie and decided to give her baby sister a break. Kara assumed that since she knew Lena like the back of her hand when they were best friends that it would directly translate. For the most part, it did, Kara knew what to get Lena for breakfasts and lunches. She knew what Lena's schedule tended to look like and when she to leave her to work versus take her out for a break. She didn't know that Lena was particular about affection and seemingly simple displays of PDA made her uncomfortable, but behind closed doors, it was Lena who would be the touchy one. Kara recognized that it was peculiar for them to have shared deep secrets during late nights and said their 'I Love Yous' but not know whether Lena was a cat or dog person. She knew it was the nature of their relationship and the fact that Lena was a private person. Kara didn't mind the pace of their relationship was different than past relationships she'd had. It was the most comfortable they both had ever been. Seeing Lena smile or hearing her laugh ring through the room gave Kara a euphoric feeling. She couldn't wait to learn everything there was to learn about Lena Luthor, as long as Lena was happy, so was Kara


	31. El Mayarah

Kara sat in her apartment curled up on her couch. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a cheesy Halloween movie on that she wasn't really paying attention to. The baddie of the week had been more of a confused alien than an actual bad guy. The atmosphere of the earth caused her to send uncontrollable waves out of whatever emotion she was feeling at the moment. The psychic dampener had calmed her down, but not before blasting Kara with a wave of melancholy and sent her spiraling into a self-pitying depression. She had left the DEO before getting a thorough check-up by J'onn to keep Alex from worrying about her. She could handle this herself and didn't want to pile on to the work that Alex had. As Director, she had her hands full and had been working double and triple shifts. It had been the fourth day of Kara dragging herself from work at CatCo to work as Supergirl. She found that keeping herself busy from the moment she was awake until she was too exhausted to stand kept the fog from overtaking her head. Nia had made a side comment that she was essentially out of a job with Supergirl putting out all the fires of National City by herself. Tonight she promised to let Nia go out on patrol before Alex fully cracked down and went into Big Sister Mode. The result was her flopping down on her couch and not moving for the past 6 hours.

Kara was so wrapped up in her blanket and her own thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps down the hall and she jumped at the sharp knock at her door. Kara used her x-ray vision to see Lena on the other side of the door. A wave of frustration ran through her as she shouted for Lena to enter her apartment. Lena walked in with familiarity and dropped her bag and coat off on the counter.

"Hey, there. Any particular reason for the burrito look you've gone for." Lena said it with some levity, trying for a joke.

Kara knew her better than that and gave her a look of exasperation "Did Alex send you?"

Lena gave a half-smile "She's worried about you, apparently you had some trouble at the DEO and it seemed to shake you a bit. Alex and Nia said you haven't been yourself."

Kara shrugged "I'm fine. It's handled."

Lena nodded but seemed unconvinced as she sat down on the opposite side of the couch. "Alex was going to stop by herself, but since you haven't said anything to her already she wanted to give you a little space before barging in."

"I said I was fine." Kara snapped and stood up from the couch grabbing the cold pizza on the coffee table. She moved towards the kitchen to reheat it trying to avoid Lena's eyes. "If she wanted to give me space she would just give me space." The last word came with the sharp thud of the oven door.

Lena didn't jump at the noise and instead looked at Kara with a patient look. "El Mayarah."

Kara whipped her head around suddenly and stared at Lena.

"How- "

"Lex taught it to me. Shortly after his obsession with Superman got worse he learned all he could about Kryptonians." Lena looked down sadly before taking a deep breath. "I always found it ironic that your house crest brought him such anger when he was trying to unify the human race against a man who wanted to do the same. Please Kara, just talk to me"

Kara's face softened and she pulled her arm into her sides. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to Lena.

"I'm sorry." a wave of emotion crashed over her and she buried her face in Lena's shoulder. A sudden wall of tears fell from her eyes as she felt Lena's warmth.

"You don't need to be, just let us be here for you." Lena ran her hand up and down Kara's back "El Mayarah." Lena repeated the phrase in a softer tone.

Hearing Lena say a phrase she'd heard so often back on Krypton brought her a sense of peace she didn't realize she needed. They sat there for several minutes in comfortable silence.

"Stronger Together." Kara said muffled into Lena's shoulder shortly before dozing off.

Lena smiled and felt the weight of Kara get heavier as her breathing became even.

_Stronger Together_

**Author's Note:**

> LMK what you guys think.  
tumblr: superdudezz


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